Reflections on 2023: Growth, leadership lessons and some musings on trends that will influence communications next year.
This year seems to have moved faster than any other - jam-packed with opportunity, events and the usual business ups and downs. It has been a game-changing year too for Cultural Comms.
As PRs, we are constantly morphing and reinventing ourselves to respond to market changes and demand. But this is now happening faster than ever before as our relationships with our communities and the way we consume media changes.
New desire for connoisseurship?
There is a new desire for connoisseurship evolving. The way people (Gen Zs particularly) like to access, receive and express connoisseurship has influenced our global comms strategies this year, and it has informed the ‘culture of collectability’ across the disciplines in which we operate - wine and spirits, art and design to watches and jewellery.
Senior management team in place
We have also been refashioning CC’s foundations since those turbulent pandemic times. This year, we have delivered on the consistency, quality, strength and structure that we have been striving for with a solid senior management team in place. This is game-changing for the business and exciting for our future.
Connecting with culture
A whistlestop tour of the year saw us continuing to connect best-in-class brands with culture, and also working with some of the most esteemed cultural organisations in the world. My proudest moments include:
The launch of our first-ever Luxury Insights Report, focusing on NFTs and the Blockchain with our research partner, ArtTactic. We co-hosted an event with Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art Department on the findings with leading lights in crypto-law, art and the digital sphere forming our panel. ?
The first TEFAF Maastricht in its new post-Covid regular March slot, followed by TEFAF New York, saw a spectacular array of modern and?contemporary art and design, jewellery, and antiquities brought together.?As the global comms lead, we decamped to the fair for its duration and our team pulled off a stellar media campaign.
With our ultra rare whisky market expertise, we worked with the global whisky private office, Beamish International to ‘lift the lid’ on some of the shady practices of fakes and frauds happening in the industry. Our campaign saw thought leadership and comment in an array of global media. ?
We brought luminaries of the spirits world from all corners of the globe together for The Last Drop Distillers at The Connaught Hotel as they opened up conversation about best practice and future opportunities in rum, whisk(e)y, and cognac. ?
Our Hiring Heroes campaign for Gander & White launched on Armistice Day, in partnership with Help for Heroes; and our work with Convelio, included arts and tech industry placements such as European seed-stage venture capital fund Seedcamp.
We also laid the foundations for future not-for-profit TM Gallery programme, featuring Bridget Riley (via Benjamin Parsons x?Hannah Payne), and Robert Montgomery (via MTArt Agency) for the unofficial Frieze after party. ?
Personal and professional highlights??
I'm not going to lie, 2023 had its 'moments' for a number of reasons but there are many positives to celebrate as well.
Our first-ever?Luxury Insights Report: Blockchain, NFTs and the Future of Collectibles – was a huge undertaking, but an agency initiative that created a global ripple effect. The idea came out of the curiosity of our clients and network to learn more. Our research demystified the blockchain-as-utility across the art and luxury business, with particular relevance to collectables around traceability, ownership and monetisation. It helped to explain the importance of stepping outside our Web 2.0 comfort zone. Our contributors included Andrew Shirley, editor of the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, leading crypto-lawyers, a collecting psychologist and sector commentators. Articles have since appeared in Wired, Knight Frank Wealth Report, The Fine Art Group and NFT.com on our report. I'm looking forward to working with ArtTactic on our next Luxury Insights Report in Spring 2024.? Watch this space.
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Mentoring culture?
Bouncing back after Covid was a challenge for working culture everywhere. This is why in recent years, we have been working hard to rebuild our foundations and create a free-flowing feedback culture. Living by our values – the ‘5 Cs’ - is a huge part of this. Our mentoring programme is designed to encourage a collective culture of working together. I'm proud of the difference this has made in the year gone by.
Senior management team?
We now have a senior leader representing each of our business pillars – digital; luxury, wine and spirits; art and design. Each has their inimitable leadership style under the Cultural ethos. It is such a joy learn from eachother. This is the scaffolding we have been working towards so that we can grow CC to the next stage.
?And personally…
Continuing my work as a board member of the London Chamber Orchestra and its societal mission to improve peoples’ lives through music. Since Covid, it has been a major hill climb to bring back basic structures – such as funding – to make it possible for a full professional orchestra to perform.
By no means a political comment, but I was inspired by Thangam Debbonaire, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and the freshness with which she spoke about the importance of bringing back J-O-Y through culture into our lives (especially childrens' lives) at the Art & Business Conference in September. I couldn’t agree more.
I also loved reading?The Imagination Muscle?by Albert Read – a reminder of the sheer brilliance of the human mind and how we should nurture it in an age of digital evolution, and revolution. ?It is a book for our time.
Finally, a never-to-be-forgotten visit to Amsterdam, where my business partner, Charlotte and I were fortunate enough to see the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. The show was nothing short of exquisite, commanding, moving for its humility and yet dazzling in its star quality.??Utterly thrilling.
It really brought me back to the roots of why we do what we do: These masterpieces – rich in detail, colour and striking storytelling - were painted hundreds of years ago yet they create a direct human response like no other.
Key learnings to take into 2024
We’re living in a tech and social revolution – no surprises there – and business strategy is propelled to respond fast in the HNWI space as much as any other. Here are my thoughts on the trends we’ll be taking into 2024 - to be embellished upon soon:
In 2024, we look forward to diving deeper into these themes, developing targeted strategies and initiatives aligning with these evolving concepts.
For more information please see www.culturalcomms.co.uk or contact me at [email protected]
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Managing Partner at Cultural Communications
11 个月Brilliant reflections as always. We’ve come a long way from the early years of CC ??
Thank you, Nina. Shirley Mueller
CEO @ MDRx | Strategy, Operations and Transformation | Board Member | Innovator and Problem Solver
11 个月Congrats on a great year Nina Plowman ????
Specialising in rural and environmental issues, wealth management and luxury investments, I create compelling content that helps my clients engage with their customers and readers
11 个月Thanks Nina. Fab as ever working with CC and loving the articles we worked on together. Hopefully more to come in 2024??
Editorial Director of Country & Town House, B Corp certified and winner of the PPA Independent Publisher of the Year Award 2022
11 个月Love working with you